Happy National Poetry Month! Join us in celebrating by checking out these poetry collections and books in verse! For even more recommendations, check out last year’s post.
Novels in Verse
Saber-Tooth by Robin Gow
Jasper’s favorite person is his older brother, Callan. They go on fossil-finding missions and stay up late while their parents work nights. Callan even helped Jasper pick out his new name when he came out as trans.
But Callan starts to grow distant and leaves for college without taking Jasper on a promised fossil dig. Jasper feels abandoned—and angry. Who needs Callan? He will dig by himself, in his backyard. As he digs, he hears a voice: the bones of a saber-toothed tiger. He’s buried deep, and he wants Jasper to DIG.
Jasper is sure a discovery like this could change the world, or at least get Callan to text him back. But as the saber-toothed tiger finds freedom, Jasper realizes he may have unleashed a monster that no one was ready for, and that anger can empower you—or destroy you.
Continue reading Happy National Poetry Month 2026!
Meet the kids in Mrs. Z’s wacky and wonderful third grade class! Sebastian Metzger is overjoyed when he checks out a brand-new book on octopodes from the school library, but everything goes awry when the book gets ruined.
An intergenerational story about a nonbinary child who learns the tradition of well digging in this picture book about community, hope, and protecting the Earth’s water.
George
Phoenix loves to play with dolls and marvel at pretty fabrics. Most of all, he loves to dance―ballet, Pow Wow dancing, or just swirling and twirling around his house. Sometimes Phoenix gets picked on and he struggles with feeling different, but his mom and brother are proud of him. With their help, Phoenix learns about Two Spirit/Niizh Manidoowag people in Anishinaabe culture and just how special he is.
In the town of Howler’s Hollow, conjuring magic is strictly off-limits. Only nothing makes Delpha McGill’s skin crawl more than rules. So when she finds her family’s secret book of hexes, she’s itching to use it to banish her mama’s money troubles. She just has to keep it quieter than a church mouse — not exactly Delpha’s specialty.
Sam is very in touch with their own queer identity. They’re nonbinary, and their best friend, TJ, is nonbinary as well. Sam’s family is very cool with it… as long as Sam remembers that nonbinary kids are also required to clean their rooms, do their homework, and try not to antagonize their teachers too much.
All’s fair in love and Color War.
All these months of staring at the wall?